Media storage devices

ABSTRACT

Hard and soft cases for storing media are disclosed. A hard case includes hooking mechanisms, on one end, and receptacles, on the other end, for interconnecting a hard case with another case. The case has side extensions which can be superimposed to connect it to another similar case. Four cases are connected to form a two by two array. The cases have holes on the body of the cases and on the side extensions so that the array can be mounted to a conventional binder or to a novel binder disclosed where the distance between the rings is about 135±5 millimeters. A soft case made by bonding together plastic sheets includes two straps extending from one end and two straps extending from the other to connect one case with another. The soft case includes extensions that extend outwardly from the sides of the soft case and house flat magnetic and non magnetic strips. Four soft cases are connected to form an array that is mountable to a conventional binder or a binder with a larger distance between the rings. A page soft case made in accordance with the present invention for storing media is an integral flat piece constructed by bonding together plastic sheets includes four pockets on each side. The page case can be mounted to a conventional binder or to a binder with rings being spaced apart at a greater distance. In another embodiment, straps are added to the ends of the page soft case to connect the page soft case to another case.

RELATED PRIORITY DATE APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of the U.S.provisional application No. 60/576,794 filed on Jun. 3, 2004.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to media storage devices, and, moreparticularly, to devices for storing media such as compact disks, floppydisks, zip disks and the like including booklets accompanying suchmedia. Still more particularly, the present invention discloses hard andsoft media storage cases capable of being releasably interconnected withother similar cases. The media storage cases can be designed with higherstorage capacity than conventional cases and are mountable in eitherconventional binders or binders with rings spaced apart at a higherdistance than the rings in conventional binders.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Media storage devices for storing media such as compact disks, floppydisks, zip disks and the like are well known. Such media storage casesare available as hard cases or soft cases. They are usually mountable onconventional binders where the rings are spaced apart at a distance ofabout 108 millimeters. The requirement of placing mounting apertures atsuch distances limit the area where the media can be stored.Furthermore, in the hard cases, such a requirement causes the placementof the apertures in the thick portions of the case thereby making theflipping of the cases difficult.

The hard cases heretofore are available as individual cases. Further,the soft cases are either available as individual cases or as casesbonded to each other to form multiple pockets. As a result, one has tohandle and carry a large number of individual units with resultingorganizational problems.

The disadvantages of the prior art cases are overcome by providingcases, soft or hard that are releasably interconnected with each otherto form units that are easy to organize and transport. The cases can bedesigned with higher storage capacity than conventional cases and aremountable to either conventional binders or binders with rings spacedapart at a higher distance than the rings in conventional binders.

These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following description and drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, hard and soft cases for storingmedia such as compact disks, floppy disks, zip disks or the like andbooklets accompanying such media are disclosed. A hard case includes ahousing with hooking mechanisms, on one end, and receptacles, on theother end, for interconnecting such a hard case with another similarcase by receiving and removably engaging the hooking mechanisms in thereceptacles. The hooking mechanisms disclosed are either an integralpart of the case and the snapping engagement of the hooking mechanism iseffected by the spring like properties of the resilient material used inthe construction of the case or mechanically activated snappingmechanisms which are placed in an engaging or disengaging position bypulling or releasing the same and by springs responding to such pullingor releasing. The case has side extensions which can be superimposed toconnect it to another similar case and to effect the simultaneousturning of the connected cases. Four cases are connected by engaging thesnapping mechanism of one case with the receptacles of another case andthe side extension of one case with the side extension of another caseto form a two by two array. The cases have holes on the body of thecases and on the side extensions so that the array can be mounted to aconventional binder where the distance between the rings is about 108millimeters or to a novel binder disclosed by the present inventionwhere the distance between the rings is about 135±5 millimeters. Theholes on the extension facilitate the mounting of the array on the ringsof such binder.

The housing of the case may have one or two cargo areas, one on eachside in the latter case. One standard design case cover is used to closethe housings and can be mounted on either end of the housing. In oneembodiment, the case cover is designed to house a medium.

Retaining mechanisms are attached to the body of the housing and thecover to hold the mediums. These retaining mechanisms are part of thebody or are separate units that are connected to the body.

In one embodiment, a compact disk is retained by a retaining mechanismhaving release segments with flanges activated by activation members,guide ring segments and an elevation ring. When one presses down on theactivation members, the release segments retract to allow the passing ofthe interior hole of the compact disk over the retracted flanges andallowing the compact disk to be intimately received over the segmentedexterior cylindrical surface formed by the release segments and theguide ring segments. The compact disk rests on the elevation ring. Whenthe pressure on the activation members is discontinued, the resilientrelease segments returning the retaining flanges to their restingposition to retain the compact disk in the housing. The compact disk isreleased by pressing the resilient release segments to retract theretaining flanges and pass the compact disk over the retracted flanges.

In another embodiment, a compact disk retaining mechanism includescurved fingers with flanges and an elevation ring. In order to engagethe compact disk with retaining mechanism the interior opening of thecompact disk is aligned over the mechanism and the disk is pressed downon curved fingers. The pressure causes the curved fingers to moveinwardly until the compact disk passes over the flanges and the diskcomes to rest on the elevation ring. The fingers then expand to engagethe compact disk.

In another embodiment, a soft case made by bonding together plasticsheets includes a pocket formed between a base sheet and a front sheetto house a compact disk. The pocket is closed by a flap. The soft caseincludes two straps extending from one end and two straps extending fromthe other to connect one case with another. The soft case includesextensions that extend outwardly from the sides of the soft case. Eachextension has an elongate pouch for housing an elongate flat magneticstrip and an elongate non magnetic flat strip. When two cases are placedside by side, the extensions overlap and the magnets retain theextensions in such overlapping position. A soft case has one pocket ortwo pockets, the latter having a pocket on each side. Four soft casesare connected to form an array that is mountable to a conventionalbinder or a binder with a larger distance between the rings aspreviously referred to in the summary regarding the hard cases.

In another embodiment, a page soft case made in accordance with thepresent invention for storing media is an integral flat piececonstructed by bonding together plastic sheets. Each page case includeson one side four pockets in a two by two array configuration each pocketbeing suitable for receiving a medium. The open ends of the pockets arecovered by flaps. In an alternative embodiment, similar pockets can beplaced on the rear end of the page soft case in an arrangement whichmirrors the arrangement set forth above to form a two sided page softcase having eight pockets. The page case can be mounted to aconventional binder or to a binder with rings being spaced apart at agreater distance as explained above. In another embodiment, straps areadded to the ends of the page soft case to connect the page soft case toanother case.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of theinvention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1A is a top perspective view of the general environment of thepresent invention showing hard and soft cases being mounted on aconventional binder;

FIG. 1B is a top perspective view of the general environment of thepresent invention showing hard cases and a page soft case being mountedon a binder made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a top plan view of the housings of two hard cases connectedside by side;

FIG. 2B is a cross sectional view taken along line 2B-2B of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 2B;

FIG. 2D is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 2B;

FIG. 2E is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 2B;

FIG. 3A is a top plan view of the housings of two hard cases like thoseshown in FIG. 2A connected end to end;

FIG. 3B is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of a housing inFIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3D is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of a housing ofFIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A is a top plan view of the housing of a hard case having analternative hooking mechanism;

FIG. 4B is an enlarged perspective and partially exploded view of aportion of a housing of FIG. 4A showing the hooking mechanism in anengaging position;

FIG. 4C is the hooking mechanism of FIG. 4B in a disengaged position;

FIG. 4D is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of a housing ofFIG. 4A showing the hooking mechanism;

FIG. 4E is an exploded view of the connection of the hitch to the bodyof the hooking mechanism of a housing of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is a top plan view of the housing of a hard case having analternative hooking mechanism;

FIG. 5B is an enlarged perspective and partially exploded view of aportion of a housing of FIG. 5A showing the hooking mechanism in anengaging position;

FIG. 5C is the hooking mechanism of FIG. 5B in a disengaged position;

FIG. 6A is a top plan and partially exploded view of the housing of ahard case having an alternative hooking mechanism;

FIG. 7A is a perspective, partially exploded view of the hookingmechanism of the housing of FIG. 6A in an engaging position;

FIG. 7B is the hooking mechanism of FIG. 7B in a disengaged position;

FIG. 7C is a perspective and partially exploded view of a portion of thehooking mechanism of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8A is a perspective view of a housing of FIG. 2A with a compactdisk not inserted in the housing;

FIG. 8B is a top plan view of the housing of FIG. 8A with the compactdisk received in the housing;

FIG. 8C is a perspective view of another embodiment of housing of FIG.8A having another design of a retaining mechanism with a compact disknot inserted in the housing;

FIG. 8D is a perspective view of a section of the housing of FIG. 8Cshowing an enlargement of the retaining mechanism;

FIG. 8E is a perspective view of a section of the housing of FIG. 8Cshowing an enlargement of the retaining mechanism with the compact diskattached to it;

FIG. 9A is a perspective view of a housing of FIG. 2A with a floppy disknot inserted in the housing;

FIG. 9B is a top plan view of the housing of FIG. 9A with the floppydisk received in the housing;

FIG. 9C is a perspective view of a housing of FIG. 2A with a zip disknot inserted in the housing;

FIG. 9D is a top plan view of the housing of FIG. 9C with the zip diskreceived in the housing;

FIG. 9E is a perspective view of a portion of FIG. 9A showing a spaceguide;

FIG. 9F is a perspective view of a portion of FIG. 9A showing aretaining mechanism;

FIG. 10A is a cross sectional view taken along line 10A-10A of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 10B is a cross section of a housing of a hard case made inaccordance with the present invention having two recessed cavities, oneon each side to house a medium in each cavity;

FIG. 10C is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 10A;

FIG. 10D is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 10B;

FIG. 11A is a fragmented top plan view of a housing of a hard case madein accordance with the present invention having two recessed cavities,one on each side, to house a medium in each cavity;

FIG. 11B is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 11A;

FIG. 11C is a perspective view of a portion of the housing shown in FIG.11B;

FIG. 12A is a perspective of hard case having a housing of FIG. 2A witha case cover connected to it on the end that is mountable to a binder;

FIG. 12B is a perspective of a hard case having a housing of FIG. 2Awith a case cover connected to it on the end that is opposite to the endthat it is connected to in FIG. 12A;

FIG. 12C is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the hard caseof FIG. 12A showing the connection between the case cover and thehousing;

FIG. 12D is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the hard caseof FIG. 12B showing the connection between the case cover and thehousing;

FIG. 12E is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the hard caseof FIG. 12A showing the connection between the case cover and thehousing;

FIG. 13A is a perspective view of a housing of FIG. 11A having two casecovers connected thereto;

FIG. 13B is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the hard caseof FIG. 13A showing the connection between the case covers and thehousing;

FIG. 14A is a perspective view of a case cover which includes a mediastorage compartment;

FIG. 14B is a enlarged perspective view of a portion of the case coverof FIG. 14A;

FIG. 14C is a plan view of the inside of a case cover without a mediastorage compartment;

FIG. 14D is a plan view of the inside of a case cover without a mediastorage compartment configured to receive a compact disk;

FIG. 14 E is a plan view of the inside of a case cover without a mediastorage compartment configured to receive a floppy disk;

FIG. 14F is a plan view of the inside of a case cover without a mediastorage compartment configured to receive a zip disk;

FIG. 14G is an enlarged view of a portion of the case cover of FIG. 14Ashowing a locking mechanism that locks the case cover to the housing;

FIG. 15A is a top plan view of a retaining mechanism of a hard case;

FIG. 15B is a cross sectional view of the retaining mechanism of FIG.15A taken along lines A and B of FIG. 15A;

FIG. 15C is a perspective view of the retaining mechanism of FIG. 15A;

FIG. 15D is a perspective view of a retaining pin of the retainingmechanism of FIG. 15A;

FIG. 16A is a top plan view of another retaining mechanism of a hardcase;

FIG. 16B there is a cross sectional view of the retaining mechanism ofFIG. 16A taken along line 16D-16D of FIG. 16A;

FIG. 16C is a perspective view of the retaining mechanism of FIG. 16A;

FIG. 16D is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 16B;

FIG. 16E is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 16C;

FIG. 17A is a top plan view of a soft case made in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 17B is a top plan view of another soft case made in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 18A is a cross sectional view taken along line 18A-18A of FIG. 17A;

FIG. 18B is a cross sectional view of a soft case having two pockets,one on each side;

FIG. 18C is an enlargement of section of FIG. 18A;

FIG. 18D is an enlargement of a section of FIG. 18B;

FIG. 19A is a top plan view showing two soft cases connected inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 19B is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of FIG. 19Ashowing a connection between the two soft cases;

FIG. 19C is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of FIG. 19Ashowing a folded strap that is not being used to connect the two softcases;

FIG. 20A is a top plan view of four soft cases connected in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 20B is a fragmented cross sectional view of the connection betweenthe sides of two double pocket soft cases;

FIG. 20C is a fragmented cross sectional view of an alternativeconnection between the sides of two double pocket soft cases;

FIG. 21A is a top plan view of a page soft case having four pockets onone side;

FIG. 21B is a top plan view of another embodiment of a page soft casehaving four pockets on one side;

FIG. 22A is a top plan view of the case of FIG. 21A with straps; and

FIG. 22B is a top plan view of the case of FIG. 21B with straps.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1A, there is shown a perspective view of aconventional binder 2 having rings 4 a, 4 b and 4 c which are equallyspaced apart for pivotally receiving media cases. The distance betweenring 4 a and 4 b and ring 4 b and 4 c is the presently used standarddistance of 108 millimeters. Four identical hard cases 6 a, 6 b, 6 c and6 d made in accordance with the present invention are connected, ashereinafter described, to form a two by two array 6 which is pivotallyconnected to binder 2. Case 6 a has holes 10 a, 12 a, 14 a and 16 a andcase 6 b has holes 10 b, 12 b, 14 b and 16 b. In the assembled positionshown in FIG. 1A, hole 10 b overlaps hole 16 a and pivotally receivering 4 b. Holes 12 a and 14 b pivotally receive rings 4 a and 4 c,respectively.

Hard cases 6 a, 6 b, 6 c and 6 d can be made of hard plastic with someflexibility as in the conventional art of hard media cases. The mediacases may be used to store computer disks, compact disks, back up disksor the like. A case such as case 6 a may be constructed so as to storefrom one to four media.

Still referring to FIG. 1A, four identical soft cases 18 a, 18 b, 18 cand 18 d, made in accordance with the present invention, as hereinafterdescribed, are connected, as hereinafter described, to form a two by twoarray 18 which is pivotally connected to binder 2. Case 18 a has holes20 a, 22 a, 24 a and 26 a and case 18 b has holes 20 b, 22 b, 24 b and26 b. In the assembled position shown in FIG. 1A, hole 20 b overlapshole 26 b and pivotally receive ring 4 b. Holes 22 a and 24 b pivotallyreceive rings 4 a and 4 c, respectively.

Soft cases 18 a, 18 b, 18 c and 18 d can be made of soft plastic withconsiderable flexibility as in the conventional art of soft media cases.A case such as case 18 a may be constructed by bonding plastic sheetstogether to form one or two pockets (if double sided) for storing onemedium in each pocket.

Referring now to FIG. 1B, there is shown a perspective view of a binder32 made in accordance with the present invention having rings 34 a, 34 band 34 c which are equally spaced apart for pivotally receiving mediacases. The distance between ring 34 a and 34 b and ring 34 b and 34 c is135±5 millimeters which is larger than the presently used standarddistance of 108 millimeters. Four identical hard cases 6 a, 6 b, 6 c and6 d, such as the ones previously described, form a two by two array 6which is pivotally connected to binder 32. In the assembled positionshown in FIG. 1B, hole 10 b overlaps hole 16 b and holes 10 b and 16 bin said overlapped position pivotally receive ring 4 b. Holes 10 a and16 b pivotally receive rings 34 a and 34 c, respectively.

Still referring to FIG. 1B, a page soft case 36 made in accordance withthe present invention for storing media has holes 38, 42 and 46 and ispivotally connected to binder 32 with holes 38, 42 and 46 pivotallyreceiving rings 34 a, 34 b and 34 c, respectively. Page soft case 36 isan integral flat piece made of well known soft plastic material commonlyused for the construction of soft madia cases by bonding plastic sheetstogether. Case 36 includes, on one side, four pockets 49, 51, 52 and 54closed by flaps, in a two by two array configuration, each pocket beingsuitable for receiving a medium. Page soft case 36 is described indetail hereinafter in connection with FIG. 21B.

The use of binder 32 with the rings being spaced apart at a distance of135±5 millimeters allows for the use of case 36 with pockets which arelarger than the pockets in conventional page soft cases to facilitatethe storage of larger media and accompanying written material. The otherflat side of page soft case 36 which is not shown in FIG. 1B may includesimilar pockets and flaps to accommodate the storage of four additionalmedia.

Referring now back to FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B, each of identical hard cases 6a, 6 b, 6 c and 6 d generally includes a housing and one or two coversfor one or two sided cases, respectively, which will be described inmore detail hereinafter. Referring now to FIG. 2A there are shownidentical housings 60 a and 60 b of cases 6 a and 6 b, respectively,aligned for connection to binder 2 which is not shown in FIG. 2A but isshown in FIG. 1A or binder 32 which is not shown in FIG. 2A but is shownin FIG. 1B. Housing 60 a includes a recessed cavity 66 a suitablyconfigured and dimensioned for receiving the media (not shown). Cavity66 a includes a wall 70 a, on one end, and a wall 72 a, on the otherend. An extension 62 a extends outwardly from and vertically to wall 70a having a lower surface on substantially the same level as the middlepoint of wall 70 a. An extension 64 a extends outwardly from andvertically to wall 72 a having an upper surface on substantially thesame level as the middle point of wall 72 a Housing 60 a includes aholes 10 a disposed on extension 62 a, a hole 12 a, a hole 14 a and ahole 16 a disposed on extension 64 a. Holes 10 a, 12 a, 14 a and 16 aare positioned on a straight line and the distance between hole 10 a andhole 14 a is substantially equal to the distance between holes 12 a and16 a. That distance is about 108 millimeters. The distance between holes10 a and 16 a is about 135±5 millimeters.

Housing 60 a includes case cover mountings 63 a and 65 a, on one end,and case cover mountings 67 a and 69 a, on the other end, for mounting acase cover (not shown), as hereinafter described. Housing 60 a includesprojections 163 a and 165 a projecting inwardly in cavity 66 a from awall 171 a and projections 167 a and 169 a projecting inwardly in cavity66 a from a wall 173 a.

Housing 60 b is identical to housing 60 a and the parts of housing 60 bcorresponding to the parts of housing 60 a are designated by the samenumber followed by the letter “b” substituting for letter “a.”Accordingly, housing 60 b includes a cavity 66 b with a wall 70 b and awall 72 b, an extension 62 b extending from wall 70 b, an extension 64 bextending from wall 72 b, a hole 10 b disposed on extension 62 b, a hole12 b, a hole 14 b and a hole 16 b disposed on extension 64 b.

Still referring to FIG. 2A, identical housings 60 a and 60 b are alignedfor connection to binder 32 (not shown in FIG. 2A but shown in FIG. 1B)by superimposing extension 62 a over extension 64 a and hole 10 b overhole 16 a. In that position, holes 10 a, 12 a, 14 a, 16 a, 10 b, 12 b,14 b and 16 b are positioned in a straight line for connection to binder2, as the one shown in FIG. 1A or binder 32, as the one shown in FIG.1B, as previously described.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, there is shown a cross sectional view ofhousings 60 a and 60 b taken along line 2B-2B of FIG. 2A. Housing 60 ahas extension 62 a, on one side, and extension 64 a, on the other side.Similarly, housing 60 b has extension 62 b, on one side, and extension64 b, on the other side. Extension 62 b is disposed over extension 64 a.

FIG. 2C shows an enlargement of the portion of the apparatus of FIG. 2Bthat is encircled by circle 2C. There is shown housing 60 a havingrecessed cavity 66 a and extension 64 a extending outwardly from wall 72a. Extension 64 a has a reduced width portion 76 a adjacent to wall 72 aformed by channels 82 a and 84 a, on the upper and bottom surfaces ofextension 64 a, respectively. Channels 82 a and 84 b have curvedtroughs. Thus, extension 64 a is more flexible at reduced width portion76 a to allow it to deviate from its original position when a biasingforce is applied on the upper or lower surface thereof. There is alsoshown housing 60 b having recessed cavity 66 b and extension 62 bextending outwardly from wall 70 b. Extension 62 b has a reduced widthportion 74 b adjacent to wall 70 b formed by channels 78 b and 80 b, onthe upper and bottom surfaces of extension 62 b, respectively. Channels78 b and 80 b have curved troughs. Thus extension 62 b is more flexibleat reduced width portion 74 b to allow it to deviate from its originalposition when a biasing force is applied on the upper or lower surfacethereof. Extension 62 b is intimately superimposed over and abutsextension 64 a The distant end of extension 62 b abuts the exteriorsurface of wall 72 a The distant end of extension 64 a abuts theexterior surface of wall 70 b. The upper surface of extension 62 b issubstantially on the same plane as the upper surfaces of walls 72 a and70 b. The lower surface of extension 64 a is substantially on the sameplane as the lower surfaces of walls 72 a and 70 b.

Referring now to FIG. 2D, there is shown an enlargement of the portionof the apparatus of FIG. 2B that is encircled by circle 2D. Housing 60 bwith recessed cavity 66 b and wall 72 b has extension 64 b with areduced thickness portion 76 b formed by channels 82 b and 84 b.

FIG. 2E shows an enlargement of the portion of the apparatus of FIG. 2Bthat is encircled by circle 2E. Housing 60 a with recessed cavity 66 aand wall 70 a has extension 62 a with a reduced thickness portion 74 aformed by channels 78 a and 80 a.

Referring back to FIG. 2A, when housings 60 a and 60 b are connected asshown and inserted into binder 2 (shown in FIG. 1A) or binder 32 (shownin FIG. 1B), the turning of housing 60 a from right to left (westernstyle) causes extension 64 a to lift extension 62 b thereby turninghousing 60 b at the same time. If one wishes to simultaneously turnhousings 60 a and 60 b from left to right, he may do so by turninghousing 60 b from left to right thereby turning housing 60 a therewith.It should be understood that housings 60 a and 60 b may be modified bysymmetrically changing the location of extensions 62 a, 64 a, 62 b and64 b so that extension 64 a is superimposed over extension 62 b.Referring to FIG. 2F, there is shown that modification wherein extension64 a of housing 60 a is superimposed over extension 62 b of housing 60b. In that case, housings 66 a and 66 b could be turned simultaneouslyfrom left to right by turning housing 60 a from left to right.

As it can be appreciated from the description above, extensions 62 a, 64a, 62 b and 64 b are thinner than housings 60 a and 60 b. Accordingly,the use of extensions 62 a, 64 a, 62 b and 64 b with holes thereon toinsert the rings of binders such as binder 32 of FIG. 1B makes theturning of the hard cases easier than it would be if the rings wereinserted in holes in the thicker portions of housings 60 a and 60 b.

Referring now to FIG. 3A there are shown housings 60 a and 60 d of cases6 a and 6 d, respectively, connected to form half of array 6 shown inFIG. 1A or FIG. 1B. Housing 60 a includes, on one end, an inwardlyfacing hooking mechanism 90 a and an inwardly facing hooking mechanism92 a which is a mirror image of hooking mechanism 90 a. On the otherend, housing 60 a includes an outwardly facing receptacle 94 a and anoutwardly facing receptacle 96 a which is a mirror image of receptacle94 a. Housing 60 d is identical to housing 60 a and the correspondingparts thereof are designated by the same numbers as the ones used forhousing 60 a followed by the letter “d” substituting for the letter “a.”Accordingly, housing 60 b includes a hooking mechanism 90 d, a hookingmechanism 92 d, a receptacle 94 d and a receptacle 96 d. Housing 60 d isconnected to housing 60 a by snappingly inserting hooking mechanisms 90d and 92 d into receptacles 94 a and 96 a, respectively, as hereinafterdescribed in more detail.

Still referring to FIG. 3A, hooking mechanism 90 a is an integral partof housing 60 a and includes a support portion 100 a, an extension 102 adepending from support portion 100 a and a peg 104 a extending inwardlyfrom the upper portion of extension 102 a. Hooking mechanism 90 a isadjacent to the end portion of extension 62 a but it is not connectedtherewith. A small gap 108 a is between hooking mechanism 90 a andextension 62 a to allow for a limited movement of hooking mechanism 90 atowards extension 62 a when a biasing force is applied thereon. Housing60 a includes a semicircular notch 106 a adjacent to support portion 100a for placing the fingers to open the case. Hooking mechanism 92 a is anintegral part of housing 60 a and includes a support portion 110 a, anextension 112 a depending from support portion 110 a and a peg 114 aextending inwardly from the upper portion of extension 112 a. Hookingmechanism 92 a is adjacent to the end portion of extension 64 a but itis not connected therewith. A small gap 118 a is between support portion110 a and extension 64 a to allow for a limited movement of hookingmechanism 92 a towards extension 64 a when a biasing force is appliedthereon. Housing 62 a includes a semicircular notch 116 a adjacent tosupport portion 110 a for placing the fingers to open the case.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, there is shown an enlarged perspective view ofthe portion of housing 60 a which is in circle 3B in FIG. 3A. There isshown hooking mechanism 92 a adjacent to notch 116 a and extension 64 aHooking mechanism 92 a has support portion 110 a, extension 112 a andpeg 114 a.

Referring now back to FIG. 3A, housing 60 d includes hooking mechanism90 d which is identical with hooking mechanism 90 a Hooking mechanism 90d is an integral part of housing 60 d and includes a support portion 100d, an extension 102 d depending from support portion 100 d and a peg 104d extending inwardly from the upper portion of extension 102 d. Hookingmechanism 92 d is adjacent to the end portion of extension 62 d. A smallgap 108 d is between support portion 100 d and extension 62 d to allowfor a limited movement of hooking mechanism 90 d towards extension 62 dwhen a biasing force is applied thereon. Housing 62 d includes asemicircular notch 106 d adjacent to support portion 100 d.

Hooking mechanism 92 d is identical with hooking mechanism 92 a. Hookingmechanism 92 d is an integral part of housing 60 d and includes asupport portion 10 d, an extension 112 d depending from support portion10 d and a peg 1141 d extending inwardly from the upper portion ofextension 112 d. Hooking mechanism 92 d is adjacent to the end portionof extension 64 d but it is not connected therewith. A small gap 118 dis between support portion 110 d and extension 64 d to allow for alimited movement of hooking mechanism 92 d towards extension 64 d when abiasing force is applied thereon. Housing 62 d includes a semicircularnotch 116 d adjacent to support portion 110 d.

Receptacle 94 a is an integral part of housing and includes an outwardlyfacing cavity formed by a bottom blind bore and two opposite facing,spaced apart walls 120 a and 122 a having arch shaped interior surfaces.The cavity of receptacle 94 a is appropriately shaped and sized so as tointimately receive peg 104 d by a snapping action and to retain peg 104d therein by the restoring spring action of walls 130 a and 132 a. Aspeg 104 d is inserted therein, walls 120 a and 122 a are biased awayfrom each other. When peg 104 d settles in receptacle 94 a, therestoring spring force of walls 120 a and 122 a causes them to snaparound peg 104 d and to retain it therein until another force is appliedthereon to disengage.

Receptacle 96 a is an integral part of housing and is symmetrical toreceptacle 94 a. Receptacle 96 a includes an outwardly facing cavityformed by a bottom blind bore and two opposite facing, spaced apartwalls 130 a and 132 a having arch shaped interior surfaces. The cavityof receptacle 94 a is appropriately shaped and sized so as to intimatelyreceive peg 114 d by a snapping action and to retain peg 114 d thereinby the restoring spring action of walls 130 a and 132 a. As peg 114 d isinserted therein, walls 130 a and 132 a are biased away from each other.When peg 114 d settles in receptacle 94 a, the restoring spring force ofwalls 130 a and 132 a causes them to snap around peg 114 d and to retainit therein until another force is applied thereon to disengage. Housing60 d is connected to housing 60 a by engaging hooking mechanism 90 dwith receptacle 94 a by snappingly inserting peg 104 d in the cavity ofreceptacle 94 a, as previously described, and by engaging mechanism 92 dwith receptacle 96 a by snappingly inserting peg 114 d in the cavity ofreceptacle 96 a. In that connected position, pegs 104 d and 114 d act aspivot for housing 60 d with respect to housing 60 a and vice versa.

Referring now to FIG. 3C, there is shown an enlargement of that sectionof FIG. 3A which is within circle 3C showing housing 60 a connected tohousing 60 d via the engagement of hooking mechanism 92 d withreceptacle 96 a. Hooking mechanism 92 d includes a support portion 110d, extension 112 d depending from support portion 110 d and peg 114 dextending inwardly from the upper portion of extension 112 d. Hookingmechanism 92 d is adjacent to the end portion of extension 64 d but itis not connected therewith. Gap 118 d is between support portion 10 dand extension 64 d to allow for a limited movement of hooking mechanism92 d towards extension 64 d when a biasing force is applied thereon.Receptacle 96 a includes two opposite facing, spaced apart walls 130 aand 132 a having arch shaped interior surfaces. The cavity of receptacle94 a is appropriately shaped and sized so as to intimately receive peg114 d by a snapping action and to retain peg 114 d therein by therestoring spring action of walls 130 a and 132 a. As peg 114 d isinserted therein, walls 130 a and 132 a are biased away from each other.When peg 114 d settles in receptacle 94 a, the restoring spring force ofwalls 130 a and 132 a causes them to snap around peg 114 d and to retainit therein as shown in FIG. 3C.

Referring back to FIG. 3A, housing 60 d has a receptacle 94 d which isidentical with receptacle 94 a. Receptacle 94 d is an integral part ofhousing and includes an outwardly facing cavity formed by a bottom blindbore and two opposite facing, spaced apart walls 120 d and 122 d havingarch shaped interior surfaces. Housing 60 d further includes areceptacle 96 d which is identical with receptacle 96 a Receptacle 96 dis an integral part of housing and is symmetrical to receptacle 94 d.Receptacle 96 d includes an outwardly facing cavity formed by a bottomblind bore and two opposite facing, spaced apart walls 130 d and 132 dhaving arch shaped interior surfaces FIG. 3D is an enlarged perspectiveview of the section of FIG. 3A which is encircled by circle 3D. There isshown housing 60 d having receptacle 96 d with opposite facing walls 130d and 132 d and an inner cavity to receive the hooking mechanism.

Referring to FIGS. 1A, 2B and 3A, when the housing of case 6 c isconnected to housing 60 b of case 6 b the way housing 60 d of case 6 dis connected to housing 60 a of case 6 a and when the housing of case 6c is connected to housing 60 d of case 6 d the way housing 60 b of case6 b is connected to housing 60 a of case 6 a, array 6 is formed. In awestern style configuration, the entire array of four cases may can beflipped from right to left by flipping case 6 a or case 6 b.

In housings 60 a, 60 b, 60 c and 60 d described above, the hookingmechanisms associated therewith are an integral part of the housing. Forexample, in housing 60 d, hooking mechanisms 90 d and 92 d are anintegral part of housing 60 d and the disengagement or engagement ofthose mechanisms from or with receptacles 94 a and 96 a, respectively,is effected by the inherent spring and elastic properties of thematerial. In another embodiment of the present invention, hookingmechanisms 90 d and 92 d are replaced by sliding hooking mechanisms thatengage the receptacles by sliding in and out to engage and disengage thereceptacles.

Referring to FIG. 4A, there is shown a housing 200 which is similar tohousing 60 d, except that it is modified to replace the integral hookingmechanisms 90 d and 92 d with inwardly facing sliding hooking mechanisms190 and 192, respectively. Hooking mechanism 190 has a peg 204 similarto but longer than peg 104 d and hooking mechanism 192 has a peg 214similar to but slightly longer than peg 114 d. Housing 200 includesreceptacles 194 and 196 which are identical to receptacles 94 a and 96 a(shown in FIGS. 3A and 3C), respectively. Receptacles 194 and 196 areconfigured so as to intimately receive pegs 204 and 214, respectively.Hooking mechanisms 190 and 192 are slidable to place pegs 204 and 214 inengaging or disengaging positions in or away from receptacles similar toreceptacles 194 and 196 in another housing.

Hooking mechanisms 190 and 192 include internal springs that aredesigned to bias and hold hooking mechanisms 190 and 192 to the engagingposition, that is the position that pegs 204 and 214 are engaginglyinserted in the receptacles, unless a pulling force is applied onhooking mechanisms 190 or 192. In FIG. 4A, hooking mechanism 190 isshown in the engaging position. Hooking mechanism 190 is activated bygrasping at a hitch 220 and pulling opposite to the biasing force of thespring to displace away from housing 200 and disengage the receptacle.Once hitch 220 is released, hooking mechanism 190 returns to theengaging position because of the spring force. In FIG. 4A, hookingmechanism 192 is shown in the disengaging position after it is activatedby grasping at a hitch 222 and pulling opposite to the biasing force ofth spring. Once hitch 222 is released, hooking mechanism 192 returns tothe engaging position.

Housing 200 includes a recessed cavity 266 which is suitable dimensionedand configured to receive the media. Cavity 266 includes a wall 270, onone end, and a wall 272, on the other end. An extension 262 extendsoutwardly from and vertically to wall 270 having a lower surface onsubstantially the same level as the middle point of wall 270. Anextension 264 extends outwardly from and vertically to wall 272 havingan upper surface on substantially the same level as the middle point ofwall 272. Housing 200 includes a hole 210, a hole 212, a hole 214 and ahole 216. Holes 210, 212, 214 and 216 are positioned on a straight lineand the distance between hole 210 and hole 214 is substantially equal tothe distance between holes 212 and 216. That distance is about 108millimeters. The distance between holes 210 and 216 is about 135±5millimeters.

Referring now to FIG. 4B, there is shown an enlarged view of aperspective, partially exploded view of the section of housing 200 andhooking mechanism 190 within circle B of FIG. 4A. Hooking mechanism 190with peg 204 has a guide opening 228 and is mounted on housing 200 byinserting a stationary cylinder 226 extending from housing 200 in guideopening 228. The interior surface of guide opening 228 rests on cylinder226 and hooking mechanism 190 is slidable on cylinder 226 using guideopening 228 as guide. A spring 230 is disposed in housing 200 having oneend 232 connected to housing 200 and another end 234 connected tohooking mechanism 190. Spring 230 in the rested position retains hookingmechanism 190 in the engaged position previously described. A cover 236mounted on hooking mechanism by pins or similar means is used to coverand close hooking mechanism 190. Hooking mechanism 190 is activated toput it in the disengaging position by grasping hitch 220 and pullingagainst the biasing force of spring 230 to pull peg 204 away from theengaging position. Hooking mechanism 190 rides over stationary cylinder226 over a predetermined path and for a predetermined distance dictatedby guide opening 228 until hooking mechanism 190 reaches its completedisengaged position.

Referring to FIG. 4C, hooking mechanism 190 is shown in the disengagedposition after hooking mechanism 190 has traveled over cylinder 226guided by guide opening 228. Spring 230 applies a biasing force onhooking mechanism 190 pulling it to the engaged position. Once hitch 220is released, spring 230 retracts hooking mechanism 190 to the restingposition which is the position in which hooking mechanism 190 is in theengaging position.

FIG. 4D is an enlarged perspective view of the section of hookingmechanism 192 and housing 200 defined by circle D in FIG. 4A. There isshown hooking mechanism 192 having peg 214 and being mounted on housing200. A hitch 222 is connected to hooking mechanism 192 to use forgrasping and pulling hooking mechanism 192.

Referring to FIG. 4E, there is shown an exploded view of the connectionof hitch 220 to the body of hooking mechanism 190. The body has a pivotelement 238 with a bore 242 there through. Hitch 220 includes a doubleclevis 244 having holes 246 and 248 there through. Pivot 238 is receivedbetween double clevis 244 and a pin 250 is inserted through aligned hole246, bore 242 and hole 248 to connect hitch 220 to pivot 238.

Referring to FIG. 5A, there is shown a housing 300 which is similar tohousings 200, except that it is modified to replace the sliding integralhooking mechanisms 190 and 192 with inwardly facing rotating hookingmechanisms 290 and 292, respectively. Hooking mechanism 290 has an archshaped hook 304 and hooking mechanism 292 has a an arch shaped hook 314which is in its retracted position (not shown in FIG. 5A). Housing 300includes receptacles 294 and 296 which are identical to receptacles 294and 296 (shown in FIG. 4A), respectively. Receptacles 294 and 296 areconfigured so as to intimately receive the ends portions of hooks 304and 314, respectively. Hooking mechanisms 290 and 292 are rotatable toplace hooks 304 and 314 in engaging or disengaging positions in or awayfrom receptacles similar to receptacles 294 and 296 in another housing.

Housing 300 includes a recessed cavity 366 which is suitable dimensionedand configured to receive the media. Cavity 366 includes a wall 370, onone end, and a wall 372, on the other end. Tandem extensions 362 and 363extend outwardly from and vertically to wall 370 and have a lowersurface on substantially the same level as the middle point of wall 370.Tandem extensions 364 and 365 extend outwardly from and vertically towall 372 and have an upper surface on substantially the same level asthe middle point of wall 372. Housing 300 includes a hole 310 onextension 363, a hole 312, a hole 314 and a hole 316 on extension 365.Holes 310, 312, 314 and 316 are positioned on a straight line and thedistance between hole 310 and hole 314 is substantially equal to thedistance between holes 312 and 316. That distance is about 108millimeters. The distance between holes 310 and 316 is about 135±5millimeters.

Hooking mechanisms 290 and 292 include internal springs (not shown inFIG. 5A) that are designed to bias and hold hooking mechanisms 290 and292 to the engaging position, that is the position that hooks 304 and314 are engagingly inserted in the receptacles. In FIG. 5A, hookingmechanism 290 is shown in the engaging position. Hooking mechanism 290is activated by grasping at a hitch 320 which is disposed betweenextensions 362 and 363 and pulling opposite to the biasing force of thespring to displace away from housing 300 and disengage the receptacle.Once hitch 320 is released, hooking mechanism 290 returns to theengaging position because of the spring force. In FIG. 5A, hookingmechanism 292 is shown in the disengaging position after it is activatedby grasping at a hitch 322 and pulling opposite to the biasing force ofthe spring. Once hitch 322 is released, hooking mechanism 392 returns tothe engaging position.

Referring now to FIG. 5B, there is shown an enlarged perspective,partially exploded view of the section of housing 300 and hookingmechanism 290 within circle B of FIG. 5A. Hooking mechanism 290 includeshitch 320, a driver 324 being connected to hitch 320 and having asurface with teeth 326, a first gear 328 engaging teeth 326, a secondgear 332 engaging first gear 328, a third gear 336 engaging second gearand a coiled spring 340 being connected to third gear 336, on end, andto housing 300 on the other end. Hitch 320 is connected to driver 324the same way hitch 220 is connected to the body of hooking mechanism 190in FIG. 4E. Driver 324 has a guide opening 348 and is slidably mountedon a stationary cylinder 350 which is inserted in guide opening 348. Theinterior surface of guide opening 348 rests on cylinder 350 and driver324 is slidable on cylinder 350 using guide opening 348 as guide. Firstgear 328, second gear 332 and third gear 336 are rotatably mounted onpins 330, 334 and 338, respectively. Hooking mechanism 290 furtherincludes hook 304 which is integrally connected to an inner hub 342 andan arm 346. Inner hub 342 is rotatably mounted on pin 344 and itsrotation around pin 344 causes the rotational movement of hook 304.Stationary cylinder 350 and pins 330, 334, 338 and 344 are integralextensions of housing 300. Arm 346 is connected to third gear 336 sothat when gear 336 rotates, arm 346 is moved to cause the rotationalmovement of hook 304. A cover 353 mounted on hooking mechanism 290 bypins or similar means is used to cover and close hooking mechanism 290.

In its rested position, spring 340 retains third gear 336 in a positionwherein hook 304 that is connected thereto via arm 346 is in the engagedposition that was previously described. Hooking mechanism 290 isactivated to put it in the disengaging position by pulling hitch 320which causes driver 324 to ride over stationary cylinder 350 over apredetermined path and for a predetermined distance dictated by guideopening 348. As driver 324 slides in the pulling direction, it causesfirst gear 328 to move in a clockwise, second gear 332 in acounterclockwise direction and third gear 336 in a clockwise direction.As third gear 336 moves in a clockwise direction, it moves arm 346 andcauses hook 304 to rotate counterclockwise and to its disengagingposition. The rotation of third gear 336 cause tension on spring 340 sothat the restoring force of spring 340 applies a force that biases hook304 towards the engaged position.

Referring to FIG. 5C, hooking mechanism 290 is shown in the disengagedposition after hooking mechanism 290 has been activated by pulling hitch320. Hook 304 is in a fully retracted position. Spring 340 applies abiasing force on hook 304 via third gear 336 to return hook 304 to theengaged position. Once hitch 320 is released, spring 340 returns hook304 to the resting position which is the position in which hookingmechanism 290 is in the engaging position.

In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 5A-5C, hooking mechanisms 290 and292 are housed in housing 300 and are supported therein by parts ofhousing 300 that are integral parts of the body of housing 300.Referring now to FIG. 6A, there is shown a housing 400 which is similarto housing 300, except that, in housing 400, the rotating hookingmechanisms and the outermost holes that receive the binder rings arehoused in and supported by an assembly which is removably attached tobody 401 of housing 400. An assembly 380, shown in a position wherein itis not connected to body 401, includes an inwardly facing rotatinghooking mechanism 390 comprising an arch shaped hook 404 and a hitch420, an extension 463 having a hole 410, a housing element 403 forhousing and supporting hooking mechanism 390 and a plurality of screws467 for affixing assembly 380 to body 401. An assembly 382, shown in aposition wherein it is connected to body 401, includes an inwardlyfacing rotating hooking mechanism 392 comprising an arch shaped hook 414(not shown in FIG. 6A) and a hitch 422, an extension 465 having a hole416, a housing element 405 for housing and supporting hooking mechanism392, and a plurality of screws 469 for securely connecting assembly 382to body 401. Extensions 463 and 465 are similar to previously describedextensions 363 and 365, respectively.

Housing 400 includes receptacles 394 and 396 which are identical toreceptacles 294 and 296 (shown in FIG. 5A), respectively. Receptacles394 and 396 are configured so as to intimately receive the ends portionsof hooks 404 and 414, respectively. Hooking mechanisms 390 and 392 arerotatable to place hooks 404 and 414 in engaging or disengagingpositions in or away from receptacles similar to receptacles 394 and 396in another housing, as further described herein.

Housing 400 includes a recessed cavity 466 which is suitable dimensionedand configured to receive the media Cavity 466 includes a wall 470, onone end, and a wall 472, on the other end. Extension 462 extendsoutwardly from and vertically to wall 470 and has a lower surface onsubstantially the same level as the middle point of wall 470. Extension464 extends outwardly from and vertically to wall 472 and has an uppersurface on substantially the same level as the middle point of wall 472.Housing 400 includes a hole 412 and a hole 414. In the assembledposition wherein assemblies 380 and 382 are connected to body 401, holes410, 412, 414 and 416 are positioned on a straight line and the distancebetween hole 410 and hole 414 is substantially equal to the distancebetween holes 412 and 416. That distance is about 108 millimeters. Thedistance between holes 410 and 416 is about 135±5 millimeters.

Hooking mechanisms 390 and 392 include internal springs (not shown inFIG. 6A) that are designed to bias and hold hooking mechanisms 390 and392 to the engaging position, that is the position that hooks 404 and414 are engagingly inserted in the receptacles. In FIG. 6A, hookingmechanism 390 is shown in the engaging position. Hooking mechanism 390is activated by grasping hitch 420 and pulling opposite to the biasingforce of the spring to displace away from housing 400 and disengage thereceptacle. Once hitch 420 is released, hooking mechanism 390 returns tothe engaging position because of the spring force. In FIG. 6A, hookingmechanism 392 is shown in the disengaging position after it is activatedby grasping at hitch 422 and pulling opposite to the biasing force ofthe spring. Once hitch 422 is released, hooking mechanism 392 returns tothe engaging position.

Referring now to FIG. 7A, there is shown a perspective, partiallyexploded view of assembly 380 of FIG. 6A. Hooking mechanism 390 includeshitch 420, a driver 424 being connected to hitch 420 and having asurface with teeth 426, a first gear 428 engaging teeth 426, a secondgear 432 engaging first gear 428, a third gear 436 engaging second gearand a coiled spring 440 being connected to third gear 436, on end, andto housing 403 on the other end. Driver 424 has a guide opening 448 andis slidably mounted on a stationary cylinder 450 which is inserted inguide opening 448. The interior surface of guide opening 448 rests oncylinder 450 and driver 424 is slidable on cylinder 450 using guideopening 448 as guide. First gear 428, second gear 432 and third gear 436are rotatably mounted on pins 430, 434 and 438, respectively. Hookingmechanism 390 further includes hook 404 which is integrally connected toan inner hub 442 and an arm 446. Inner hub 442 is rotatably mounted onpin 444 and its rotation around pin 444 causes the rotational movementof hook 404. Stationary cylinder 450 and pins 430, 434, 438 and 444 areintegral extensions of housing 403. Arm 446 is connected to third gear436 so that when gear 436 rotates, arm 446 is moved to cause therotational movement of hook 404. A cover 453 mounted on housing 403 bypins or screws 467 is used to cover and enclose housing 403.

In its rested position, spring 440 retains third gear 436 in a positionwherein hook 404 that is connected thereto via arm 446 is in the engagedposition that was previously described. Hooking mechanism 390 isactivated to put it in the disengaging position by pulling hitch 420which causes driver 424 to ride over stationary cylinder 450 over apredetermined path and for a predetermined distance dictated by guideopening 448. As driver 424 slides in the pulling direction, it causesfirst gear 428 to move in a clockwise, second gear 432 in acounterclockwise direction and third gear 436 in a clockwise direction.As third gear 436 moves in a clockwise direction, it moves arm 446 andcauses hook 404 to rotate counterclockwise and to its disengagingposition. The rotation of third gear 436 cause tension on spring 440 sothat the restoring force of spring 440 applies a force that biases hook404 towards the engaged position.

Referring to FIG. 7B, hooking mechanism 390 of FIG. 7A is shown in thedisengaged position after hooking mechanism 390 has been activated bypulling hitch 420. Hook 404 is in a fully retracted position. Spring 440applies a biasing force on hook 404 via third gear 436 to return hook404 to the engaged position. Once hitch 420 is released, spring 440returns hook 404 to the resting position which is the position in whichhooking mechanism 390 is in the engaging position.

Referring now to FIG. 7C, there is shown the connection betweenextension 463 having hole 410 and housing 403. Housing 403 includes adouble pivot 411 a and 411 b having tandem bore 413 a and 413 b,respectively. Extension 463 has a double clevis 415 a and 415 b havingtandem openings 417 a and 417 b. A pin 419 is inserted through openings417 a, bore 413 a, opening 417 b and bore 413 b to form a “hinge like”connection wherein extension 463 is allowed to swing.

The hard cases described may be used to store several types of mediasuch as compact disks, floppy disks, zip disks and other media orbooklets. In order to a accommodate a specific medium the recessedcavity of the housing of the hard is appropriately configured tointimately receive and retained therein the medium for storage,transportation or the like. FIG. 8A shows housing 60 a which waspreviously described with a recessed cavity 66 a configured to receive acompact disk 550. A retaining mechanism 552 a is placed in the middle ofthe bottom of recessed cavity 66 a to engage and retain compact disk550. Retaining mechanism 552 a is attached to the bottom of recessedcavity by inserting a connecting portion thereof in apertures 554 a and556 a. Retaining mechanism 552 a may be also an integral part of housing60 a. FIG. 8B shows compact disk 550 intimately received in recessedcavity 66 a of housing 60 a and retained therein by retaining mechanism552 a.

Referring now to FIG. 8C, there is shown housing 60 a having analternative design of a retaining mechanism 558 a which is an integralpart of housing 60 a for receiving compact disk 550. Retaining mechanism558 a has an interior grasping section 565 a formed by a ring and twoperpendicular crossing walls inside the ring forming cavities forreceiving the fingers of a person, a segmented ring 559 a being disposedoutside grasping section 565 a and comprised of six ring segments andsix elevation spokes 561 a being outside segmented ring 559 a. Graspingsection 56 a, segmented ring 559 a and elevation spokes 561 a areattached to the bottom of the recessed cavity of housing 60 a. Retainingmechanism 558 a is made of flexible plastic material commonly used inthe construction of media retaining mechanisms employed in compact diskstorage cases.

Referring now to FIG. 8D, there is shown an enlargement of retainingmechanism 558 a having interior grasping section 565 a, segmented ring559 a being disposed outside grasping section 565 a and comprised of sixring segments and six elevation spokes 561 a being outside segmentedring 559 a. Each of the ring segments of segmented ring 559 a has anoutwardly projecting upper retaining flange 563 a. Segmented ring 559 ahas a segmented outer cylindrical surface suitably sized to beintimately inserted in the central circular opening of a standardcompact disk. Retaining flanges 563 a are also arranged in a segmentedcircular configuration and, in their rested position, they extend beyondthat segmented cylindrical surface. The upper surfaces of the segmentsof segmented ring 559 a are tapered with the higher end being on theinside and the lower end being on the outside.

In order to engage the compact disk with retaining mechanism 558 a, theinterior opening of the compact disk is aligned with the segmented outercylindrical surface of segmented ring 559 a and is pressed down ontapered upper surface of segmented ring 559 a. The pressure causes thesegments of segmented ring 559 a to move inwardly until the compact diskpasses over flanges 563 a and comes to rest on elevation spokes 561 aThe restoring force causes the segments of segmented ring 559 a to moveoutwards and flanges 563 a to retainingly engage the compact disk. FIG.8E shows compact disk 550 retained by retaining mechanism 558 a.

FIG. 9A shows housing 60 a with a recessed cavity 66 a suitablyconfigured to receive a floppy disk 560. Space guides 562 a (not shown),562 b, 562 c and 562 d extend from the bottom of recessed cavity 66 band are spaced apart to provide stabilizing walls for floppy disk 560.Retaining mechanisms 564 a (not shown), 564 b, 564 c and 564 d alsoextending vertically from the bottom of recessed cavity 66 a are spacedapart to provide stabilizing walls and retaining hooks for floppy disk560. FIG. 9B shows floppy disk 560 intimately received in recessedcavity 66 a of housing 60 a and are positioned and retained therein byspace guides 562 a, 562 b, 562 c and 562 d and retaining mechanism 564a, 564 b, 564 c and 564 d.

FIG. 9C shows housing 60 a with a recessed cavity 66 a suitablyconfigured to receive a zip disk 570. Space guides 562 c and 562 dextend from the bottom of recessed cavity 66 b and are spaced apart toprovide stabilizing walls for zip disk 560. Retaining mechanisms 564 a(not shown), 564 b, 564 c and 564 d also extending vertically from thebottom of recessed cavity 66 a are spaced apart to provide space guides,stabilizing walls and retaining hooks for zip disk 570.

FIG. 9D shows zip disk 570 intimately received in recessed cavity 66 aof housing 60 a and are positioned and retained therein by space guides562 c and 562 d and retaining mechanism 564 a, 564 b, 564 c and 564 d.

FIG. 9E shows space guide 562 a extending from the bottom of recessedcavity 66 a of housing 60 b providing a space guide for floppy disk 560.Space guide 562 a includes a lower vertical wall section 567 a and anupper ramp section 568 a to facilitate the easier insertion of floppydisk 560 between the space guides.

FIG. 9F shows details of retaining mechanism 564 a having a wall 569 aextending vertically from the bottom of recessed cavity 66 a of housing60 a and a hook portion 571 a. Wall 569 a provides a space guide andsupport for hook portion 571 a that hooks on floppy disk 560. Retainingmechanism 564 a is suitably constructed with sufficient flexibility toallow for the insertion of floppy disk 560 and sufficient springstrength to return to the resting position and snappingly engage floppydisk 560.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the housing disclosed hereinis designed to have a recessed cavity on one side only to store themedia In another embodiment, the housing is designed with two recessedcavities, one on each side. Referring to FIG. 10A there is shown a crosssectional view of housing 60 a taken along line 10A_10A of FIG. 3A.There is shown recessed cavity 66 a having walls 70 a and 72 a andextensions 62 a and 64 a, as previously described. FIG. 10C is anenlarged view of one end portion of housing 60 a designated by circle10C in FIG. 10A. Housing 60 a has recessed cavity 66 a, wall 72 a andextension 64 a extending outwardly from wall 72 a.

FIG. 10B is a cross section of a housing 600 made in accordance with thepresent invention having a recessed cavity 660, on one side, and arecessed cavity 670, on the other side. Cavities 660 and 670 have a wall700 on a one end and a wall 720, on the opposite end. An extension 620similar to extension 62 a extends outwardly and perpendicularly fromwall 700. The lower surface of extension 620 extends from the middlepoint of wall 620. An extension 640 extends outwardly andperpendicularly from wall 720. The upper surface of extension 640extends from the middle point of wall 620. FIG. 10D is an enlarged viewof one end portion of housing 600 designated by circle 10D in FIG. 10B.Housing 600 has recessed cavities 660 and 670, wall 720 and extension640 extending outwardly from wall 720.

As described above, the housings disclosed have either one or tworecessed cavities and have case cover mountings for attaching a casecover either on the end that has the holes for receiving the binder oron the opposite end where the receptacles are. According to the presentinvention, a modular, single design case cover is disclosed that can beused as cover in both single or double recessed cavity housings and canbe mounted in both mounting ends of the housings without requiringmodification. Referring now to FIG. 11A, a double recessed cavityhousing is designed to accommodate the use of such a modular case cover.

Figure is a fragmented top view of housing 600 having hooking mechanisms90 a an 92 a and receptacles 94 a and 96 a, as the ones shown in FIG.3A, extensions 620 and 640 that are similar to extensions 62 a and 64 a(shown in FIG. 2A), a recessed cavity 660 and a recessed cavity 670 (notshown in FIG. 11A but shown in FIG. 10B). In order to better describethe invention, a straight line 601 is shown which passes through themiddle point of recessed cavity 660 and is parallel to extensions 620and 640. Line 601 and a similar line that passes through the middlepoint of cavity 670 are on the same plane which is generallyperpendicular to housing 600. That plane is designated herein as PlaneA. A line 603 is also shown which is perpendicular to line 601 andpasses though the middle point of recessed cavity 660. Line 603 and asimilar line that passes through the middle point of recessed cavity 670define a plane which is perpendicular to Plane A and generallyperpendicular to housing 600. That plane is referred to herein as PlaneB.

Housing 600 includes case cover mountings 605, 607, 609 and 611 whichare on the end that has the holes that receive the binder rings and casecover mountings 613, 615, 617 and 619 on the opposite end. Case covermountings 619, 617, 615, and 613 are mirror images of case covermountings 605, 607, 609, and 611, respectively with respect to Plane B.Case cover mountings 609, 611, 613, and 615 are mirror images of casecover mountings 607, 605, 619, and 617, respectively with respect toPlane A. Therefore, a description of case cover mountings 605 and 607 issufficient to describe the remaining case mountings.

An enlargement of case cover mountings 605 and 607 is shown in FIG. 11B.Case cover mounting 605 includes an open end slot 621 in housing 600, aclosed end slot 623 and a bearing 625 having an axis perpendicular toslots 621 and 623. Bearing 625 is formed by spaced apart tandem walls627 and 629 having arched surfaces on their facing ends. FIG. 11C showsslot 623 and walls 627 and 629 of FIG. 1B. Walls 627 and 629 have endswith arched surfaces 631 and 633, respectively that form a segmentedcylinder that acts as a bearing for intimately receiving a journal froma case cover (not shown). Wall 627 has tapered ends 635 and 637 oneither side of curved surface 631. Further, wall 629 has tapered ends639 and 641 on either side of curved surface 633.

Referring back to FIG. 11B, case cover mounting 607 includes an open endslot 643 in housing 600, a closed end slot 645 and a bearing 647 havingan axis perpendicular to slots 643 and 645. Bearing 647 is similar tobearing 625 and is formed by spaced apart tandem walls 649 and 651having arched surfaces 653 and 655 on their respective facing ends.Arched surfaces 653 and 655 form a segmented cylinder that acts as abearing for intimately receiving a journal from a case cover (notshown).

Referring to FIG. 12A, case 6 a has a housing 60 a, as the onepreviously described in FIGS. 2A and 3A, and a case cover 61 a beingrotatably connected to housing 60 a via case cover mountings 63 a and 65a which are proximate to the holes receiving the rings of the ringbinder. Case cover 61 a includes a generally flat section 161 a which issufficiently sized to cover housing 60 a. FIG. 12C is an enlargement ofthe connection between case cover 61 a and housing 60 a via case covermounting 63 a. Case cover mounting 63 a is similar to case covermounting 605 previously described. Accordingly, it includes an open endslot 71 in housing 60 a, a closed end slot 73 and a bearing 75 having anaxis perpendicular to slots 71 and 73. Bearing 75 is formed by spacedapart tandem walls 77 and 79 having arched surfaces on their facingends. Case cover 61 a has an arm 81 a extending perpendicularlytherefrom and a journal 83 a extending perpendicularly therefrom arm 81a. Arm 81 a is received in slot 71 and journal 83 a is received andsupported in bearing 75 where it is allowed to rotate.

FIG. 12E is another view of the connection between case cover 61 a andhousing 60 a. Arm 81 a of case cover 61 a is received in slot 71 andjournal 83 a is received and supported in bearing 75 where it is allowedto rotate. Bearing 75 is formed by spaced apart tandem walls 77 and 79having arched surfaces 731 and 733 on their facing ends, respectively.Wall 77 has tapered ends 735 and 737 on either side of curved surface731. Further, wall 79 has tapered ends 739 and 741 on either side ofcurved surface 733. Journal 83 a is inserted in bearing 75 by pushingjournal 83 a to advance it on tapered surfaces 737 and 741 causing walls77 and 79 to move further apart until journal 83 a snaps into place inbearing 75. Walls 77 and 79 return to their rested position and retainjournal 83 a in bearing 75.

Referring back to FIG. 12A, case cover 61 a includes a second arm 810 aidentical with arm 81 a and a journal 830 a identical with journal 83 awhich engage case cover mounting 65 a like arm 81 a and journal 83 aengage case cover mounting 63 a.

Referring to FIG. 12B, case cover 61 a is connected to housing 60 a viacase cover mountings 67 a and 69 a on the end that is proximate toreceptacles 94 a and 96 a. FIG. 12D is an enlargement of the connectionbetween case cover 61 a and housing 60 a via case cover mounting 67 a.Case cover mounting 67 a is similar to case cover mounting 613previously described. Accordingly, it includes an open end slot 85 inhousing 60 a, a closed end slot 87 and a bearing 89 having an axisperpendicular to slots 85 and 87. Bearing 89 is formed by spaced aparttandem walls 91 and 93 having arched surfaces on their facing ends. Arm81 a is received in slot 85 and journal 83 a is received and supportedin bearing 89 where it is allowed to rotate. Flat section 161 a includesa crease area 189 a where cover 61 a is more flexible and readilybendable.

Referring back to FIG. 12B, second arm 810 a which is identical with arm81 a and journal 830 a which is identical with journal 83 a engage casecover mounting 69 a like arm 81 a and journal 83 a engage case covermounting 67 a.

FIG. 13A shows housing 600, previously described in FIGS. 10 b and 11A,having case cover mountings 605, 607, 609 and 611, on the end that isconnected to the binder, and case cover mountings 613, 615, 617 and 619,on the opposite end. Case covers 61 a and 61 b which are identical aremounted on housing 600 to cover recessed cavities 660 and 670 (not shownin FIG. 13A), respectively. Case cover 61 a is rotatably connected tohousing 600 via case cover mountings 605 and 609. Case cover 61 b isrotatably connected to housing 600 via case cover mountings 607 and 611.It should be understood, that case cover 61 b is identical with casecover 61 a. Hence, case cover 61 b has arms 81 b and 810 b extendingperpendicularly from section 161 b and journals 83 b and 830 b extendingperpendicularly from arm 81 b and 810 b, respectively.

FIG. 13B is an enlargement of the connection between case cover 61 a andhousing 600 via case cover mounting 605 and case cover 61 b via casecover mounting 607 which is the area designated by circle 13B in FIG.13A. There is shown journal 83 a supported by arm 81 a of case cover 61a being rotatably disposed in bearing 625 of case cover mounting 605.Journal 830 b which is connected to case cover 61 b is rotatablydisposed in bearing 647.

Referring back to FIG. 13A, journal 830 a supported by arm 810 a of casecover 61 a is rotatably disposed in the bearing of case cover mounting609 and journal 83 b of case cover 61 b is rotatably disposed in thebearing of case cover mounting 611. Covers 61 a and 61 b are securelyand rotatably connected to housing 600 and can be opened and closedwithout interfering with each other.

It should be understood that case covers 61 a and 61 b can be similarlymounted on the other end of the housing by mounting case cover 61 a oncase cover mountings 613 and 617 and case cover 61 b on case covermountings 615 and 619.

The case covers made in accordance with the present invention may or maynot include a media storage compartment to store a booklet, a compactdisks, a floppy disk, a zip disk or the like. Referring to FIG. 14A,there is shown a case cover 861 a which includes a media storagecompartment 866 a for storing a booklet. Case cover 866 a includes arms81 a and 810 a extending perpendicularly from the body of case cover 886a Journal 83 a extends perpendicularly from arm 81 a and journal 830 aextends perpendicularly from arm 810 a. Journals 83 a and 830 a point tothe same direction and their axis is on the same line. Arms 81 a and 810a and journals 83 a and 830 a are the same in all covers and arepositioned in the same location in all covers so that the same coverdesign (with or without a media compartment) may be used in single ordouble storage housings and for all case cover mounting applicationspreviously described. Referring now to FIG. 14B there is shown anenlarged view of arm 81 a extending from the body of case cover 861 aand journal 83 a extending perpendicularly from arm 81 a.

Referring now to FIG. 14C, there is shown the relative position ofjournals 83 a and 830 a with respect to each other on a case 61 a, acase without media storage compartment. It should be understood,however, that the relative position is the same in all case coversregardless on whether they include media storage compartments. Tofurther clarify the invention, a line 790 passes through the center ofcase cover 861 a. A line 791 is parallel to line 790 and passes adjacentto the arm supporting journal 830 a. A line 792 is parallel to line 790and passes adjacent to the arm supporting journal 83 a. The distancebetween lines 790 and 791 is equal to the distance between lines 790 and792. Journal 830 a points towards 790 and away from line 791. Journal 83a points away from lines 792 and 790. It should be understood that thevarious case cover mountings previously described in connection withsingle or double storage housings are positioned so as to accommodatethe usage of the universal case cover design with the universalarm/journal design and positioning described herein.

Referring now back to FIGS. 14A and 14B, case cover 861 a includes anouter wall 867 a which is suitably designed to conform with and bepositioned in tandem with the wall on the housing when case cover 861 ais closed. Further, case cover 861 a includes a raised wall 868 a whichis interiorly of and abutting wall 867 a. Wall 868 a is so configured soas to be intimately inserted inside the wall of the housing when casecover 861 a is closed to seal the recessed cavity of the housing and toprotect the stored media. In the case of case covers that do not have amedia storage compartment, wall 867 a is not present. Still referring toFIG. 14A, case cover 861 a includes extensions 870 a, 871 a, 872 a and873 a to engage and retain the booklet in the booklet storagecompartment. Case cover 861 a includes locking mechanisms 874 a and 875a that engage corresponding mechanisms in the housing to lockinglyengage the housing with case cover 861 a.

Referring now to FIG. 14G, there is shown and enlargement of lockingmechanism 874 a. There is shown case cover 866 a with walls 867 a and868 a. A groove 893 a in wall 868 a is configured to intimately receiveand engage a projection in the housing such as projection 169 a or 165 a(shown in FIG. 2A).

FIG. 14D shows a case cover 862 a configured to receive a compact disk550. A retaining mechanism 552 a as the one described in FIG. 8A retainscompact disk 550 therein.

FIG. 14E shows a case cover 863 a with a storage compartment suitablyconfigured to receive a floppy disk 560. Floppy disk 560 is intimatelyreceived in case cover 863 a and is positioned and retained therein byspace guides 562 a, 562 b, 562 c and 562 d and retaining mechanisms 564a, 564 b, 564 c and 564 d similar to the ones described in FIG. 9B.

FIG. 14F shows a case cover 864 a with a storage compartment suitablyconfigured to receive a zip disk 570. Zip disk 570 is intimatelyreceived in case cover 864 a and is positioned and retained therein byspace guides 562 c and 562 d and retaining mechanisms 564 a, 564 b, 564c and 564 d similar to the ones previously described in FIG. 9D.

FIGS. 15A and 15C show retaining mechanism 552 a having an elevationring 802, two symmetrical release segments 808, two symmetrical releasesegments 818, two symmetrical guide ring segments 826, two symmetricalguide ring segments 828 and two symmetrical connecting members 830.Retaining mechanism 552 a is an integral piece made of flexible plasticmaterial commonly used in the construction of media retaining mechanismsemployed in compact disk storage cases. Elevation ring 802 has anexterior conical surface with a lower exterior diameter 804 being largerthan an upper exterior diameter 806. Release segment 808 has a wall 810connected to elevation ring 802, an outwardly projecting retainingflange 814 and a generally flat activation member 812. Release segment818 has a wall 820 connected to elevation ring 802, an outwardlyprojecting retaining flange 824 and a generally flat activation member822. Guide ring segment 826 is connected to elevation ring 802 betweenrelease segments 808 and 818. Guide ring segment 828 is connected toelevation ring 802. Connecting member 830 extends from interiorly fromguide ring segment 828. Walls 810 and 820 and guide ring segments 826and 828 have exterior curved surfaces that are arranged and connected toelevation ring 802 in a circular configuration so as to form a segmentedouter cylindrical surface having a diameter substantially equal to upperdiameter 806 of elevation ring 802 and suitably sized to be intimatelyinserted in the central circular opening of a standard compact disk(shown in FIG. 8B). Retaining flanges 814 and 824 are also arranged in asegmented circular configuration and, in their rested position, theyextend beyond the exterior surfaces of walls 810 and 820 and guide ringsegments 826 and 828.

Referring now to FIG. 15B there is shown a cross sectional view ofretaining mechanism 552 a taken along lines A and B of FIG. 15A. Thereis shown retaining mechanism 552 a having elevation ring 802 with lowerexterior diameter 804 and smaller upper exterior diameter 806.Activation member 822 of release segment 818 is connected to elevationring 802 via wall 820 over a relief cavity 838. Retaining flange 824extends beyond the exterior surface of wall 820. Activation member 812of release segment 808 also extends over relief cavity 838. Guide ringsegment 828 is connected to elevation ring 802 and connecting member 830extends from guide ring segment 828 inwardly. A retaining pin 832extends downwards from connecting member 830 and is one of the two pins(the other being an identical pin extending from th other connectingmember 830) that are used to securely connect retaining mechanism 552 ato apertures 554 a and 556 a (shown in FIG. 8A).

FIG. 15D shows retaining pin 832 extending from connecting member 830.Retaining pin 832 is a segmented pin with an enlarged head having fouridentical resilient segments 834 with relief slots 836 there between.Segments 834 are biased towards each other to reduce the enlarged headso that it can be inserted in aperture 554 a or 556 a Once it isinserted in the aperture, the biasing force is discontinued and theenlarged head returns to its resting position to securely retainretaining pin 832 and securely connect retaining mechanism 552 a tohousing 60 a (shown in FIG. 8B). A retaining mechanism is connectedlikewise to a cover when a cover is used to store a compact disk.

Referring now to FIGS. 15A through 15C, a compact disk is attached bysimultaneously pressing release segments 808 and 818 to retractretaining flanges 814 and 814, passing the interior hole of the compactdisk over the retracted flanges 812 and 814 and allowing the compactdisk to be intimately received over the segmented exterior cylindricalsurface formed by walls 810 and 820 and guide ring segments 826 and 828.The compact disk comes to rest on the upper portion of elevation ring802 whereby it does not touch the bottom of the housing to avoidscratching or other damage that can be caused by such contact. When thepressing on release segments 808 and 818 is discontinued, the resilientrelease segments 808 and 818 return to the resting position therebyreturning the retaining flanges 814 and 814 to their resting position toretain the compact disk in the housing. The compact disk is released bysimilarly pressing the resilient release segments 808 and 818 to retractthe retaining flanges 814 and 824 and pass the compact disk over theretracted flanges.

Another compact disk retaining mechanism 850 is shown in FIGS. 16A and16C. Retaining mechanism 850 includes an elevation ring 851, a main body852 comprising branches 854, 856 and 858 and connecting members 853 and855, and curved fingers 868, 870, 872, 874, 876 and 878. The endportions of branches 854, 856 and 858 are attached to elevation ring 851and have outer arc ends 860, 862 and 864, respectively, that form asegmented outer cylindrical surface suitably sized to intimately receivea compact disk over it. Elevation ring 851 has an exterior conicalsurface with a lower exterior diameter 881 being larger than an upperexterior diameter 883. Upper exterior diameter 883 is substantiallyequal to the diameter of outer arc ends 860, 862 and 864.

Curved fingers 868 and 870 extend circumferentially in oppositedirections from the end portion of branch 854 with the exterior surfacesof curved fingers 868 and 870 transitioning smoothly from outer arc end860 at the points of connection and gradually advancing beyond theimaginary circumference of the segmented cylinder formed by arc ends860, 862 and 864. A retaining flange 869 extends from curved finger 868with the extension span of retaining flange 869 gradually and smoothlyincreasing from nil to its maximum as one advances from the point ofconnection of curved finger 868 and outer arc end 860 to the free end ofcurved finger 868. Similar retaining flanges 871, 873, 875, 877 and 879with similarly increasing spans extend from curved fingers 870, 872,874, 876 and 878, respectively. The upper surfaces of fingers 868, 870,872, 874, 876 and 878 are tapered with the higher end being on theinside and the lower end being on the outside.

Each one of connecting members 853 and 855 includes retaining pin 832like the one previously described in connection with retaining mechanism552 a in FIG. 15D. Retaining pins 832 securely connects retainingmechanism 850 to housing 60 a (shown in FIG. 8B). A retaining mechanismis connected likewise to a cover when a cover is used to store a compactdisk.

Referring now to FIG. 16D, there is shown a cross sectional view ofretaining mechanism 850 taken along line 16D-16D of FIG. 16A. There isshown elevation ring 851 with lower diameter 881 and upper diameter 883,branch 858 of body 852 having an outer arc end 864, connecting members853 and 855 with retaining pins 832, and finger 870 having retainingflange 871.

Referring now to FIG. 16D, there is shown an enlargement of the sectionof FIG. 16B encircled by circle 16D. There is shown finger 870 having anexterior surface extending beyond the surface defined by upper diameter883 of elevation ring 851 and a retaining flange 871 extending fromfinger 870. Upper outer facing surface 885 of flange 871 is curved.Referring now to FIG. 16E, there is shown an enlargement of section ofFIG. 16C enclosed by circle 16E showing finger 874 having retainingflange 875.

In order to engage the compact disk with retaining mechanism 850, theinterior opening of the compact disk is aligned with the segmented outercylindrical surface formed by outer arc ends 860, 862 and 864 and ispressed down on curved fingers 868, 870, 872, 874, 876 and 878. Thepressure causes curved fingers 868, 870, 872, 874, 876 and 878 with theupper tapered ends to move inwardly until the compact disk passes overflanges 869, 871, 873, 875, 877 and 879 and comes to rest on elevationring 851. The restoring force causes resilient curved fingers 868, 870,872, 874, 876 and 878 to move outwards and flanges 869, 871, 873, 875,877 and 879 to retainingly engage the compact disk.

Referring to FIG. 17A, there is shown soft case 18 a which is also shownin FIG. 1A as part of array 18. Soft case 18 a is made by bondingtogether plastic sheets of well known material suitable material for theconstruction of soft cases. Soft case 18 a includes a pocket 900 aformed between base sheet 901 a and front sheet 902 a to receive andhouse compact disk 550. A generally triangularly shaped flap 906 a(shown is a partially opened position) with its fixed end attachedadjacent to end 907 a is configured so as to allow the insertion of thecompact disk, in the open position, and to close the open end of pocket900 a, in the closed position, to protect the enclosed compact disk fromdust, scratching and the like as well as from sliding out of thepockets. A small pocket 908 a adjacent to end 907 a formed by base sheet901 a and a narrow front strip receives a small portion 909 a of compactdisk 550 and serves as a stop and stabilizing element for compact disk550.

An extension 910 a extends outwardly on one side of soft case 18 a andan extension 920 a which is a mirror image of extension 910 a extendsoutwardly on the other side of soft case 18 a. Extension 910 a includesan elongate pouch 911 a for housing an elongate flat strip 912 a havingtwo flat sides, one magnetic or one non magnetic. Strip 912 a isinserted in or removed from pouch 911 a through aperture 913 a. Strip912 a can be one piece having one magnetic and one non magnetic sectionconnected together or two separate flat strips, one magnetic and one nonmagnetic. Pouch 911 a has an elongate opening 915 a over a portion ofstrip 912 a to allow the direct contact of the strip with another strip.Extension 910 a further includes hole 26 a. Extension 920 a, being amirror image of extension 910 a includes an elongate pouch 921 a forhousing an elongate flat strip 922 a having two flat sides, one magneticand on non magnetic. Strip 922 a can be inserted in or removed frompouch 921 a through aperture 923 a. Pouch 921 a has an elongate opening925 a over a portion of strip 922 a to allow the direct contact of thestrip with another strip. Extension 920 a further includes hole 20 a.

Soft case 18 a includes bonded sections 914 a and 924 a Hole 24 a isdisposed in bonded section 914 a and hole 22 a is disposed in bondedsection 924 a Holes 20 a, 22 a, 24 a and 26 a are positioned on astraight line and the distance between hole 20 a and hole 24 a issubstantially equal to the distance between holes 22 a and 26 a. Thatdistance is about 108 millimeters. The distance between holes 20 a and26 a is about 135±5 millimeters.

Soft case 18 a further includes straps 930 a, 932 a, 934 a and 936 awhich are used to connect soft cases like soft case 18 a together. Strap930 a is a generally flat member having a semicircular exterior endportion 938 a, a semicircular cut 940 a forming a semicircular interiorportion 942 a and a rectangular aperture 944 a between cut 940 a andhole 26 a.

Strap 936 a is a mirror image of strap 930 a and strap 934 a is a mirrorimage of strap 932 a with respect to a plane which is perpendicular toextension 910 a. Strap 932 a is a mirror image of strap 930 a and strap934 a is a mirror image of strap 936 a with respect to a plane which isperpendicular to the plane of case 18 a and parallel with extensions 910a and 920 a. Accordingly, strap 932 a includes a semicircular exteriorend portion 917 a, a semicircular cut 919 a forming a semicircularinterior portion 927 a and a rectangular aperture 945 a. Strap 934 aincludes a semicircular exterior end portion 933 a, a semicircular cut935 a forming a semicircular interior portion 937 a and a rectangularaperture 929 a. Strap 936 a includes a semicircular exterior end portion948 a, a semicircular cut 950 a forming a semicircular interior portion952 a and a rectangular aperture 954 a. The sheets used to form softcase 18 a are bonded in bonded sections 914 a and 924 a, straps 930 a,932 a, 934 a and 936 a, end 907 a and on extensions 910 a and 920 a,interiorly and exteriorly of pouches 911 a and 921 a.

Referring now to FIG. 17B, there is shown a soft case 19 a which issimilar to soft case 18 a except for the fact that its pocket isincreased by removing bonded sections 914 a and 924 a and holes 22 a and24 a. Booklets or the like can be stored in the increased size pocket.Soft case 19 a is used only in connection with binders that have ringsthat are spaced at a distance of 135±5 millimeters.

Soft case 18 a may be constructed with one pocket or with two pockets,one on the front and one on the back. Referring now to FIG. 18A, thereis shown a cross sectional view of soft case 18 a having one pockettaken along line 18-18 of FIG. 17A. Soft case 18 a has pocket 900 aformed between front sheet 901 a and base sheet 902 a to receive andhouse compact disk 550. Extension 910 a extends outwardly on one side ofsoft case 18 a and extension 920 a which is a mirror image of extension910 a extends outwardly on the other side of soft case 18 a. Extension910 a includes pouch 911 a for housing strip 912 a which includes amagnetic and a non magnetic portion. Extension 920 a includes pouch 921a for housing flat strip 922 a which includes a magnetic and a nonmagnetic portion. The sheets forming soft case 18 a are bonded onextensions 910 a and 920 a, interiorly and exteriorly of pouches 911 aand 921 a, at 953 a, 955 a, 965 a and 963 a.

FIG. 18C is an enlargement of the section of soft case 18 a encircled inFIG. 18A by circle 18C. There is shown soft case 18 a with pocket 900 aformed between base sheet 901 a and front sheet 902 a housing compactdisk 550. Extension 920 a includes pouch 921 a housing flat strip 922 aand having opening 925 a over it. Strip 922 a includes an upper portion959 a and a lower portion 961 a. Depending on whether the configurationis western or eastern, one of portions 959 a and 961 a is magnetic andthe other non magnetic. The sheets forming soft case 18 a are bonded at965 a and 963 a.

Referring now to FIG. 18B, there is shown a cross sectional view of asoft case 218 a having two pockets. Soft case 218 a is similar to softcase 18 a except that soft case 218 a has two pockets. Soft case 218 ahas pocket 900 a formed between front sheet 901 a and base sheet 902 aand a pocket 990 a formed between base sheet 902 a and back sheet 931 ahousing compact disks 550. Extension 930 a extends outwardly from themiddle section of one side of soft case 218 a and extension 940 a whichis a mirror image of extension 930 a extends outwardly on the other sideof soft case 218 a. Extension 930 a includes pouch 911 a for housingmagnetic or non magnetic strip 912 a and a pouch 941 a for housing amagnetic or non magnetic strip 942 a. Extension 940 a includes pouch 921a for housing flat magnetic or non magnetic strip 922 a and a pouch 951a for housing a magnetic or non magnetic strip 952 a. The sheets formingsoft case 218 a are bonded on extensions 930 a and 940 a at 973 a, 975a, 985 a and 983 a.

FIG. 18D is an enlargement of the section of soft case 218 a encircledin FIG. 18B by circle 18D. There is shown soft case 218 a with pockets900 a and 990 a formed between base sheet 902 a and front sheet 901 aand base sheet 902 a and back sheet 931 a housing compact disks 550.Extension 940 a includes pouch 921 a for housing flat magnetic or nonmagnetic strip 922 a and having opening 925 a over it, and a pouch 951 afor housing a magnetic or non magnetic strip 952 a and having an opening955 a over it. The sheets forming soft case 218 a are bonded at 985 aand 983 a.

Referring now to FIG. 19A there are shown soft cases 18 a and 18 dconnected to form half of array 18 shown in FIG. 1A. As previouslydescribed, soft case 18 a has straps 930 a, 932 a, 934 a and 936 a whichare used to connect soft cases like soft case 18 a together. Soft case18 d is identical to soft case 18 a and the corresponding parts thereofare designated by the same numbers as the ones used for soft case 18 afollowed by the letter “d” substituting for the letter “a.” Accordingly,soft case 18 d has straps 930 d, 932 d, 934 d and 936 d which are usedto connect it to another soft case. Soft case 18 d is connected to softcase 18 a by engaging strap 936 a with strap 930 d and strap 934 a withstrap 932 d.

Referring now to FIG. 19B, there is shown an enlarged view of theengagement between straps 934 a and 932 d in the area contained withincircle 19B. Strap 934 a extending from soft case 18 a engages strap 932d extending from case 18 d by inserting semicircular exterior portion933 a and semicircular interior portion 937 a of strap 934 a through arectangular aperture 945 d and expanding portions 933 a and 937 a tosecurely engage soft case 18 d. Similarly, strap 932 d engages strap 934a by inserting semicircular exterior portion 917 d and semicircularinterior portion 927 d of strap 932 d through a rectangular aperture 929a and expanding portions 917 d and 927 a to securely engage soft case 18a.

Referring back to FIG. 19A, unused straps 930 a, 932 a, 934 d and 936 dare folded inwards to a secure position. Referring to FIG. 19C, there isshown an enlarged view of the folding of strap 930 a of soft case 18 a.Strap 930 a is folded downwardly and rearwardly at 941 a, exteriorsemicircular portion 938 a and interior semicircular portion 942 a areinserted in rectangular aperture 944 a and are allowed to expand tosecurely remain in the folded position.

Referring now to FIG. 20A, there are shown four identical soft cases 18a, 18 b, 18 c and 18 d being connected to form array 18 of FIG. 1A formounting to a binder. The corresponding parts of each of those identicalsoft cases are designated by the same numbers followed by the lettercorresponding to the specific case. For example, in soft case 18 b, theextension which is identical with extension 910 a of soft case 18 a is910 b. Accordingly, like soft case 18 a that has extensions 910 a and920 a, previously described, soft cases 18 b, 18 c and 18 d haveextensions 910 b and 920 bs extensions 910 c and 920 c, and extensions910 d and 920 d.

Soft cases 18 a and 18 d are connected to each other, as previouslydescribed in connection with FIGS. 19A, 19B and 19C. Further, soft cases18 b and 18 c are connected to each other in a similar fashion by usingcorresponding straps. Still referring to FIG. 20A, identical housings 18a and 18 b are aligned for connection to binder 32 (not shown in FIG.20A but shown in FIG. 1B) by superimposing extension 910 a overextension 920 b and hole 26 a over hole 20 b. Strip 912 a in extensions910 a has a lower magnetic section and an upper non magnetic section.Strip 922 b in extension 920 b has an upper magnetic section and a lowernon magnetic section. The magnetic sections of strips 912 a and 922 bcause extensions 910 a and 920 b to stick together. Similarly, identicalhousings 18 d and 18 c are aligned for connection by superimposingextension 910 d over extension 920 c with strips having magnetic and nonmagnetic sections being disposed therein to strengthen the engagementthere between. In that position, holes 26 b, 24 b, 22 b, 20 b, 26 a, 24a, 22 a and 20 a are positioned in a straight line for connection tobinder 2, as the one shown in FIG. 1A or binder 32, as the one shown inFIG. 1B.

Still referring to FIG. 20A, when soft cases 18 a, 18 b, 18 c and 18 dare connected as shown and inserted into binder 2 (shown in FIG. 1A),the turning of soft case 18 b from right to left (western style) causesextension 920 b to lift extension 910 a thereby turning soft case 18 aat the same time. Similarly the turning of soft case 18 c causes softcase 18 d to turn also.

If the arrangement of the extensions shown in FIG. 20A is changed bysuperimposing extension 920 b over extension 910 a and extension 920 cover extension 910 d, the turning of the soft cases previously describedwill be changed from left to right.

Referring now to FIG. 20B, there is shown the connection between doublepocket soft cases 218 a and 218 b, if the single pocket soft cases ofFIG. 20A are replaced with double pocket soft cases. Soft case 218 a wasdescribed in FIG. 18B and soft case 218 b is identical with soft case218 a. There is shown extension 930 a of soft case 218 a beingsuperimposed over extension 940 b of soft case 218 b. Extension 930 ahas a nonmagnetic strip 912 a on top and a magnetic strip 942 a at thebottom. Extension 940 b has a magnetic strip 922 b on top and a nonmagnetic strip 952 b, at the bottom. That arrangement facilitates thewestern style turning from right to left. To effect a reverse turningstyle, i.e. eastern style turning from left to right the superimpositionof extensions 930 a and 940 b is reversed by superimposing extension 940b over extension 930 a, as shown in FIG. 20C. Extension 940 b hasnonmagnetic strip 922 b on top and magnetic strip 952 b at the bottom.Extension 930 a has magnetic strip 912 a on top and nonmagnetic strip942 a, at the bottom.

Referring now to FIG. 21A, a page soft case 36 u made in accordance withthe present invention for storing media is an integral flat piececonstructed by bonding together plastic sheets. The sheets are made ofwell known soft plastic material commonly used for the construction ofsoft madia cases. Page soft case 36 u has holes 38, 40, 42, 44 and 46,in sequence, advancing from one side to the other. The distance betweenholes 38 and 42 is equal to the distance between holes 42 and 46 and itis about 135±5 millimeters. The distance between holes 40 and 42 isequal to the distance between holes 42 and 44 and it is about 108millimeters. Page soft case 36 u can be pivotally connected to a binderlike binder 2 by receiving the rings in holes 40, 42 and 44 or to abinder like binder 32 by receiving the rings in holes 38, 42 and 46.

Case 36 u includes, on one side, four pockets 48, 50, 52 and 54, in atwo by two array configuration, each pocket being suitable for receivinga medium. Each pocket is formed between base sheet 37 and front sheet 39to receive and house compact disk 550 inserted therein through openends. The closed end of pocket 48 includes a bonded section 21 whereinhole 40 is disposed and a bonded section 23. The closed end of pocket 50includes a bonded section 27 and a bonded section 29 wherein hole 44 isdisposed. The open ends of pockets 48 and 50 are on the portion of thepocket which is distant to the side that is mountable to the binder. Theopen ends of pockets 54 and 52 face towards the top end of page softcase 36 u.

The open ends of pockets 48, 50, 52 and 54 are covered by generallytriangularly shaped flaps 56 a, 56 b, 56 c and 56 d (shown in apartially opened position), respectively, whose fixed ends are connectedto the end of the respective pocket and are configured so as to allowthe insertion of the media, in the open position, and to cover the openends of those pockets, in the closed position, to protect the enclosedmedia from dust, scratching and the like as well as from sliding out ofthe pockets. Although flaps 56 a, 56, 56 c and 56 d are connected to theends of their respective pockets, they are not creased at those ends,but at a point which is a short distance interiorly of those ends toform small pockets 58 a, 58 b, 58 c and 58 d, respectively, that serveas a stop and stabilizing element for compact disk 550. Pockets 52 and54 are square and have a larger capacity than pockets 48 and 50 whosecapacity is reduced by the bonded sections 21 and 23, and 27 and 29.Accordingly, one may store in pockets 52 and 54 booklets which sometimesaccompany compact disks. Page soft case 36 u further includes a titlestrip 59 a, at the top end of pocket 48, a title strip 59 b, at the topend of pocket 54, a title strip 59 c, at the bottom end of pocket 52, atitle strip 59 d, at the bottom of pocket 50, and a title strip 59 ebetween pockets 48 and 50. Each title strip is a narrow elongate pouchformed by the top and bottom sheets and has small openings for insertingthe written title material.

In an alternative embodiment, similar pockets can be placed on the rearend of page soft case 36 u in an arrangement which mirrors thearrangement set forth above to form a two sided page soft case havingeight pockets.

In an alternative construction of page soft case 36 u, bonded sections21, 23, 27 and 29 and holes 40 and 44 of page soft case 36 u areeliminated to increase the capacity of pockets 48 and 50. Thatalternative construction is shown as page soft case 36 in FIG. 21Bwherein pockets 48 and 50 of page soft case 36 u are replaced by pockets49 and 51, respectively. The three remaining holes 38, 42 and 46 areused to receive rings 34 a, 34 b and 34 c of binder 32, as shown in FIG.1B.

Referring now to FIG. 22A, there is shown page soft case 360 which ispage soft case 36 u of FIG. 21A with straps 367, 369, 371, 373 and 375attached thereto. Those straps are similar to straps 930 a, 932 a, 934 aand 936 a which were described in FIG. 17A and are used to connect pagesoft case 360 with page soft cases having similar straps in a mannersimilar to the one described before. FIG. 22B shows a page soft case 650which is case 36 of FIG. 21B with straps 367, 369, 371, 373 and 375attached thereto to connect case 650 with other cases having similarstraps.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

1. A case for holding media, comprising: a housing for housing themedia; and means for removably connecting the housing to another casefor holding media.